What do ammunition numbers mean

All use. So what do all those extra numbers mean? In the case of the. The in. Instead, this number refers to the year , the year these rounds were officially adopted by the United States military. Then there are cartridges with designations resembling complex math problems. To break down the structure of this cartridge designation, the first number refers to the diameter of the projectile.

In this case, 7. Caliber generally refers to handguns, rifles, and ammunition. Shotguns are a little different. We generally measure the barrel diameter of a shotgun in gauges. The number of lead balls this size that add up to one pound in weight is the gauge of the shotgun. For example, it takes twelve lead balls the size of a 12 gauge shotgun bore to weigh a single pound. The exception to this rule is the. Although, the. Because caliber is typically measured in inches, understanding how inches compare to millimeters is a big help.

This will also help you convert caliber to millimeters and vice versa. Consider this a basic firearms math lesson. If you look at a standard grade school ruler, you can easily see that each centimeter is divided into ten equal segments.

Each of these tiny hash marks measures one millimeter. If you compare the centimeter side of the ruler to the inches side, you can also observe that one inch is equal to 2. I cheated and used my math super powers. Then why bother at all with this information? Because it can help in some instances. Once you find ammunition you and your gun like, you want to try to stay as close to that ammunition as you can. What do I mean by ammunition you and your gun like? Some guns will feed and fire some ammunition better than others.

The shape of the bullet can make a difference. The weight of the bullet can make a difference. The amount of energy can make a difference. Using the same amount of gunpowder, a lighter bullet will go faster than a heavier one. But a heavier bullet will generally slow down less due to air resistance, and will generally penetrate deeper into whatever you are shooting at.

Where to begin? Start out seeing what ammunition others who own a gun like yours use. None of your buddies shooting a gun like yours? Maybe do a little checking online — many firearms forums post anecdotal information showing testing members have done, and there are some good sites that do more rigorous testing for velocity and penetration. See what is recommended, and give it a try.

Using this as your guide, you can then launch the search for less expensive practice ammunition that is similar in weight and velocity. Looking for an essential camp and field knife that has proven itself in the field.

We love the Kershaw Camp 10 after putting it to the test on hunts and more. Browning has a long legacy of making legendary guns. The gas-driven BAR, bolt-action Safari, and lever-action Model 71 are three of our all-time favorites. Please enter a keyword to search. Sign In Login to Your Account. Forgot your password? The reason being, hollow points actually stop the threat much faster.

If the person is likely to succumb to their wounds anyway, helping them do it faster is a better idea to limit suffering. Because JHP ammunition expands, it makes a bigger wound. A bigger wound means more internal damage and a quicker incapacitated attacker. So, this is a common acronym for rifle ammo and basically means that the tip is hollow for controlled expansion and the end is shaped like a boat tail for aerodynamics and to help it fly better.

This is essentially target ammo without a jacket, or copper coating. Hornady made this popular, but you will see other manufacturers use it who load bullets from Hornady in their cartridges. These are essentially a hollow point bullet with a polymer part in the middle to help the bullet not expand until the appropriate time. The higher pressure on these munitions essentially increases terminal ballistics.

Well done. And I would add: It's my understanding since different bullet weights grains behave differently, don't expect your If you set it up to shoot with one, then switch, you'll have to make some adjustments.

Excellent article. This just cleared all my confusions that always bothered me. Thank you. I am a gunsmith and it has always drove me nuts that European calibers are make so much more sense than what we have here in the good ole US of A. I try to explain this to customers and they look at me with this blank look!! The blank look is perhaps caused by not explaining the fact that this is an exception to the rule, not the rule for 30 calibers, even in American standard measurements.

It's better explained for the The first 2 digits are even rounded off and the term of 30 caliber bullet is used but if it were the real American standard, it would be. The metric full measurement of diameter of the largest part of the projectile or the bore of the rifle coupled with the full height of the Bullet which is the casing and the projectile is 7. Using a While it is a 30 caliber or more specifically. Explaining this would easily turn blank faces to that of recognition instead of purposely induced confusion.

This way, all the 7. Using the metric measurements of just the two most important in getting the size or idea of it. If they wish to go further they can easily get the metric measurements of the diameter of the projectile, the neck of the casing, the diameter of the casing base or rim the diameter of the largest part of the casing, and the smallest part or necked down portion and the full height of just the casing.

TWO measurements is all it takes for every bullet in metric, then the explanation of either the original inventors "NAMING" of said bullet or the hundredth or thousandth of an inch measurement from the list across the top of the box they came in if not in metric.

I'm going off what I perceive as sarcasm from your statement of "makes sense hah? So your sayin that higher grain count means its not as strong, but lower grain count packs more of a punch. The heavy will knock down the target.

This is akin to quoting Mr. Einstein's "an object in motion tends to stay in motion" but including the motion distance directly related to the mass of the object or bullet projectile in this case.

In other words, less grains does mean more penetration in the beginning but the loss of energy prohibits that aspect much sooner than the bullet with more grains.